Lewis Robertson
Lewis Robertson, a Black man, was held in the Watkinsville jail in Georgia. According to the Fitzgerald Enterprise, a masked mob took him and other prisoners from the jail shortly after midnight on June 29, 1905, and shot them near the center of town after demanding the keys at gunpoint. The Adair County News, published August 16, 1905, reported instead that the men were hanged at a prepared site, that the jailer gave in and led the mob to the cells, and that the sheriff, who lived a mile away, did not learn of it until morning. The two accounts differ on how the men were killed.
Cause of death, as reported: Taken from custody and lynched (disputed; neglect alleged). One account says a masked mob took him from the Watkinsville jail and shot him, while another says the mob hanged him, and the jailer gave in and led them to the cell while the sheriff did not learn of it until morning.
Reported by: news reporting on the Watkinsville jail lynching (reporters).